Hunters or Hunted
by AxelTheBunny
Summary: When a group of demon hunters arrive in Nerima, things seem to go as per norm with a new engagement and new fighters. Only for things to begin to change at the whims of a Mastermind.
1. Chapter 1

Katsuo Fujioka sighed looking over Nerima.

Katsuo was middle-aged but still physically fit, his body lean and sculpted by years of hard training. His long spiky black hair going down his back as it had since he'd been a teenager. He was described often as wild looking, with a sort of untamed look about him that tended to put people on edge. His black gi was accented with a silver symbol on the back, one that depicted a hound standing proudly.

He never liked the city, and the return to Tokyo had been even more annoying, but unfortunately he had no choice, the cities notable demon activity making the city hard to ignore.

Tokyo's demon activity dwarfed any other city in Japan. Then there was the more personal matter that had drawn him to this district in general.

As if on cue a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"You sure this is the right place old man?" His Niece asked for what had to be the third time.

Two teenagers stood to his side.

The first was his niece, Yasu Fujioka, his brother's only daughter, and the last family Katsuo had. She had long straight black hair that ran down her back and had what could be considered a petite build. She wore red martial arts slacks and black slippers, a white tank top under a long sleeved black cotton kungfu shirt. Her grey eyes showing her annoyance as she stood waiting for them to leave.

The second, one Ryoichi Maeda, was a tall boy that looked much like what a stereotypical japanese punk would look like. Black pants and a white shirt with an unbuttoned jacket over it. He had short dark orange hair that was left unkempt, and was currently slouching against the wall to a store. The shopkeeper overtly keeping an eye on the boy to make sure he didn't cause trouble.

"Nerima, Tokyo, supposedly the Tendo dojo is here somewhere." He repeated. Looking around. The streets seemed to be lined with shops, most of which were seemingly normal, though a few had items that made him raise an eyebrow. Low quality magical items seemed intermixed with the mundane. "Saotome isn't exactly easy to track down, had to call in a favor to get this close." He continued.

"Why you so keen on finding this Saotome guy anyways." His male charge asked.

"His son is the one i'm interested in, supposed to be a great martial artist, besides Genma and I have an arrangement that I need to talk to him about." his niece looked up at that, knowing full well what that arrangement was, He was still surprised she was willing to go along with this, but then he never would understand teenagers.

"Tch yeah, maybe I'll have to see that for myself."

Yasu rolled her eyes, she'd gotten used to Ryo's boasting but the boy still knew how to get on her nerves. She looked over, realizing something for the first time. "Hey, what happened to Ito?" She asked. The short teenaged swordsman being nowhere to be seen, despite having been with them upon arrival to Tokyo, and even up to just prior to the current conversation.

"Probably went off to check things out on his own, he'll find us."

He knew his third charge too well to think anything different. The boy was fierce with a sword, and one of the best trackers he'd ever seen, able to trace people's ki from long distances.

Then there was his "unique" heritage…. "

"I've heard there were some good fighters around here, might just make things interesting." Ryoichi said, seeming eager to start trouble already.

"Try not to pick any fights yet, we'll be staying here for awhile." Katsuo noticed a distant sound, an older man's voice by the sound of it, repeating a familiar phrase.

"What a haul! What a haul!" He raised an eyebrow, his mind already reaching the conclusion of who it could be.

"Find the dojo, I'll meet you later." He instructed, satisfied when his niece went in the opposite direction as the legendary pervert.

Happosai let out a laugh as he bounded up the street, his newly acquired undergarments slung over his shoulder in a large sack as the mob tried in vain to catch him.

They were certainly determined as,the pervert had learned, after all they'd already chased him several kilometers, and showed no sign of giving up.

The old man was otherwise a bit disappointed in the crowd, after all none had even gotten close to stopping him. Well, at least he'd gotten some nice prizes for his collection from the group.

Happosai was too preoccupied thinking about his precious collection, and all the new additions he would make to it, to notice the sudden danger approaching him until it was too late.

The punch intercepted him in midair, sending the aged pervert flying into the roof of a nearby home. The aged pervert dusted himself off as he stood. Annoyance evident on his face at the fact someone was ruining his fun. His first assumption was it would be Ranma, the brat did like to interrupt him often enough after all. Of course the ki was different from Saotome's or any of his friends.

That meant this was a different nuisance. The aged pervert glared at the ingrate only to pause as he recognized the features of the boy.

It had been decades since the two had met of course, but Happosai's suspicions were confirmed as soon as the man in the black gi opened his mouth.

"Getting slow, aren't you sensei?" The man was smirking, but only one of his students ever actually referred to him as sensei, with Soun and Genma preferring the label of Master.

"Well well, Katsuo m'boy come to visit your old master?." Happosai said the name with a pause considering something. He glanced over at where he'd landed to see his sack had landed intact. The attack hadn't really done any damage to happosai himself of course, though he did not that the Fujioka hadn't shirked his training. Unlike his other worthless disciples, Soun and Genma's failing had been irking the old man for some time.

It was one of the reasons he'd made Ranma his heir instead, the boy had to be the most talented fighter he'd ever met at that young age. Of course Happosai had other pupils in the past, Soun and Genma simply being two of his more recent attempts to pass down the art.

"You wish old man, I've got business with Saotome….heard you were dead." Katsuo looked down as the mob seemed to disperse, having lost sight of the target of their ire. "I see you've been busy."

"Nonsense m'boy, not while the world is so full of silky darlings!" The pervert declared, Katsuo rolled his eyes. "And I suppose you're here for other reasons as well?" The pervert asked, returning to seriousness. It was unusual for any of his disciples to seek him out. Though he was on better terms with Katsuo Fujioka than most of his other disciples he had been no exception to this.

"You're right, we need to talk…" The demon hunter's voice turned serious, rather than the somewhat lighter tone he'd been using previously.

Happosai considered the man before him before nodding.

* * *

Yasu glanced after her uncle as he disappeared, jumping to a nearby rooftop before disappearing. "So much for not drawing attention to ourselves." She muttered to herself.

Ryoichi looked around, noticing that few people seemed to react to the superhuman feat and those that did seemed to only react by shrugging it off.

"They must get a lot of weirdos around here, everybody's acting like that was normal."

"Probably used to those fighters you were talking about." She commented, before taking out a phone to look at the map of the area. Unfortunately she couldn't find the place online and thus decided to ask the shopkeeper eying Ryoichi.

"Excuse me, we're looking for the Tendo Dojo."

"Take the turn over there, when you reach the canal go right, keep going and you'll see the place." The shopkeeper answered, eager to get the troublemaker away from his shop. The fact that they were looking for that place only reaffirmed that image in his mind. Last thing he needed was some martial arts duel tearing his shop apart.

Yasu thanked the man, turning to the direction the man pointed and starting down that way only to see that Ryoichi had failed to follow.

"You heard him right, come on."

Ryoichi shook his head. "Think I'll pass." He said, turning in the other direction. "The old man can find me later, this dojo crap sounds boring as hell." He continued, putting his hands behind his head as he walked off, looking for all the world like a typical high school delinquent.

Yasu rolled her eyes sighing before deciding it wasn't worth the effort of dragging the boy with her.

Instead she turned and began following the directions she was given as Ryoichi went in the other direction.

* * *

Ryoichi was disappointed so far, he hadn't seen anyone interesting yet, and this place looked boring, he hadn't seen anything interesting yet.

"Hey, my bag!" a girl yelled, prompting the delinquent to look over as a teenage boy ran in his direction with the bag in question in hand. Ryoichi simply waited for the boy to try to pass by him before his foot shot out, knocking the would-be thief down as his feet were knocked out from under him. Ryoichi caught the bag, which had been abandoned mid fall and sent flying into the air on it's descent back down. He shot the girl it belonged to a smirk as the would be thief found his feet and ran off.

That was when a hand picked him up by the collar, and Ryo found himself face to face with a bandana clad boy.

* * *

Ryoga Hibiki was lost, which wasn't abnormal for him, as he continued his unending journey from one destination to another. He was trying to make his way back to the home of his girlfriend Akari at the moment, only to have heard a girl cry out as her bag was stolen.

It took him a minute to orient himself to where the sound came from, but once in sight he could already tell what was happening. A delinquent boy with dyed orange hair held a bag that obviously belonged to the schoolgirl nearby, he was giving some kind of condescending smirk, and Ryoga felt rage building up.

The fang-toothed boy had never liked bullies, and it was obvious this delinquent was just the type to rob an innocent girl. Ryoga grabbed the guy by the collar, ready to give the bastard a beating.

Ryoichi gave the bandana guy an amused look, dropping the bag onto the ground and slipping his hands into his pockets as he considered the boy in front of him. "Help ya with something?" He asked.

"How dare you rob an innocent girl like that."

Ryoichi considered correcting the guy but then paused, realizing that there was more to this goof than met the eye, he definitely was stronger than he looked that was for sure.

"And what're ya gonna do about it pal?" He grabbed the hand of the guy, still clutched around the collar of his shirt.

Ryoga had been ready to met out deserved punishment to the punk only to suddenly find himself airborne as the guy used leverage to throw him his over away using a notably well performed throw.

Ryoga landed on his feet, but the throw had created some distance between him and his opponent.

That was fine, the Hibiki boy was a martial artist, surely there was no way he could lose to some street punk.

* * *

Yasu looked over the dojo that had been the focus of her search.

The Tendo dojo, home of the Tendo School of Anything goes martial arts, whatever that meant, was actually rather large property considering its location in Tokyo. A sign saying to use the back door to engage in savage combat prompted an eyeroll, it sounded like the type of thing Ryo would like.

The house itself seemed rather large, not even considering the outdoor area or the dojo, it was largely of an old fashioned traditional style, likely an older building passed through generations.

Yasu knocked on the front door, deciding that starting a fight probably wouldn't help her right now.

A young woman with brunette hair dressed in a rather conservative dress answered the door.

"Oh hello? How can I help you." THe woman asked.

"Er….Im looking for someone named Saotome Genma…."

"Oh my, please come in, Mr Saotome should be home soon."

* * *

AN-

Well finally got around to writing more things. I'm sure i dont need to point out where this is going, but I've gotten some ideas for this story that I can't fit into my other stories without disrupting plot. I do need to work on other stories, but it may take longer than expected.

Takes place somewhere post manga most likely, though at the moment I am trying to avoid giving specifics on the timeframe.

kinda rushed with editing (read: just did spelling grammar check) so...meh but whatever.


	2. Chapter 2

Ryoichi ducked under a kick, barely avoiding being struck by the the bandana-clad boy, he did a sweeping kick before the boy could recover knocking him off his feet before following that with a second kick that was swiftly avoided by the bandana-clad fighter.

Ryoichi moved back slightly as his opponent climbed to his feet, looking none the worse for wear.

"What are you made of?" he asked incredulously, he'd hit the guy hard enough to put down a low level demon, let alone a human fighter.

He'd already realized he wouldn't win in a straight slugfest, the guy was ridiculously strong as well, but he was much slower than the people Ryoichi was used to fighting.

Hell this guy probably wouldn't even be able to see Ito.

Still that didn't matter with just how tough the bastard was.

Ryoichi dodged another attempt strike, watching as it left a crater in a wall behind him. This guy was a pretty good fight, if the other fighters were half as good as him, the delinquent boy was sure he'd enjoy himself here. He didn't waste the opening left by the dodged blow, giving a strike to the guy's torso that pushed him back several feet to the canal.

Their fight had already moved a good distance.

"Why you still holding back? Just like getting your ass kicked that much?" Ryoichi taunted.

The fang toothed boy growled. "Alright then take this!" The boy stuck out an index finger, poking the ground between the two of them."Bakusei Tenketsu!"

Ryoichi looked on confused before the ground suddenly erupted into an explosion of shrapnel all around the other fighter.

He moved backwards as quick as he could, but wasn't quite fast enough to avoid all the shrapnel that was sent his way.

"Tch, shoulda figured you had some tricks like that up your sleeve.' The delinquent boy remarked. "Guess I should get serious too!"

Before Ryoichi could do anything however a small spray of water hit the other fighter from the ladle of an old lady. Ryoichi blinked as the teenager he'd been brawling with was replaced with nothing but a pile of clothes.

"The hell just happened?"

* * *

Ito Mizushima looked a the high school below passively. There were several ki signatures he could sense in the building that were noteworthy, it was interesting to say the least to the teenaged swordsman.

The school day seemed to be just ending, with the students either going to their club activities.

Many of the more notable ki signatures he could sense were already leaving the school, It was surprising, since few people in the modern day truly honed their abilities with Ki at all, and at least one of the ki signatures he could sense was quite powerful indeed.

There was something strange about that one as well, as if there was something extra as well that he couldn't quite grasp easily, it wasn't something most people would be able to sense easily.

"Hold, knave!" A voice said, drawing his attention away from the strange ki signature. The boy in front of him was one of the less remarkable ki signatures he'd seen. The boy did have a stronger presence than the average person, but not overly remarkable. Ito noted the guy's style of dress, wearing a Hakama and Kendo uniform that made him look as though he'd just stepped out of the feudal era. The boy carried a bokken, and the way he moved indicated some level of training with the weapon. "You dare to insult me, carrying a blade on this establishment of learning? Who dares?"

Ito glanced at the teenager, he was tall, much taller than Ito, who only came up to about the boy's chest. Still Ito dismissed the boy, turning back from him.

"But is it not customary to give one's own name before asking for another's?" The idiot continued. "I Am the undefeated captain of this high school's Kendo club, The rising new star of the high school fencing world. The sound of my voice strikes fear into the hearts of my enemies. The Blue Thunder of Furinkan high, Tatewaki Kuno, age 17."

Ito barely paid the introduction any attention, having already started walking away, he had no interest in picking fights with fools, that was Ryoichi's thing.

"I see you choose to flee before mine glorious might, a wise decision indeed." The wannabe samurai proclaimed.

Tatewaki Kuno studied the unfamiliar swordsman before him. The boy had short spiky white hair and a strange look in his eyes. The eyes were an unusual color, a seeming mix of Green and blue that somehow unsettled Tatewaki somewhat. He was short, as short as his beloved pigtailed girl, if not even shorter than that. His outfit was a dark green, and obviously designed for the martial arts, though it was not quite a gi there were also small areas that were decorated with black,, including the turtle design on the left leg that seemed a bit unusual.

Kuno had seen such finery on other martial arts outfits, but usually a more fierce beast such as a dragon or a tiger. A turtle however, was most unorthodox.

"I simply don't deal well with fools." Ito commented calmly, continuing his exit,

Kuno was surprised by this one's arrogance, while he had lost to Saotome before, as well as several of the other local martial artists, none were his equal when it came to a sword. Kuno failed to acknowledge all the times he'd lost to those fighters while armed rather easily. "Such a comment shall earn you no mercy, prepare yourself!" Kuno proclaimed, prepared to mete out the proper punishment for such insolence.

The Kendo practitioner made a running strike at his short decided opponent only to see his opponent disappear from in front of him. Only to notice the boy standing on his bokken, facing him with an impassive expression.

"Very well, If a fight is unavoidable…" The boy said, still sounding largely disinterested with the situation/ He used his thumb to flick his sword out of its sheath, causing it's handle to slam against the forehead of the Kendoist. This action appeared enough to send the the Kuno flying back, with Ito landing back on the ground and resheathing his partly drawn sword.

Kuno had ended up in a crater on the school's outer wall, and seemed unconscious at the moment, though surprisingly not injured seriously.

Ito continued to walk as he noted different ki signatures before his danger sense caused him to react, blurring out of the way of a barrage of blades being launched his way. A battlecry being shouted.

"Ranma Saotome prepare to die!"

* * *

Ranma Saotome was walking back to the dojo after a dull day at school, he'd had a quick fight with Kuno in the morning, but nothing really abnormal had happened yet.

"I can't believe you wanted Ukyo's cooking over mine!" A voice said behind him, bringing up the less pleasant part of the day. Akane had apparently cooked something in home economics, with Ukyo sharing the class both girls had wanted to give their culinary creations to their fiance.

Akane was obviously angry, but Ranma wanted nothing to do with the misshapen attempt at making cookies.

He blinked when he saw an unfamiliar face holding what was definitely Ryoga's pig form.

Ryoichi meanwhile stared at the pig, he still had no clue where the bandana guy had gone, it seemed he'd just disappeared, though his clothes and heavy pack had been left behind. He went over to pick up the umbrella the boy had wielded early on in their conflict, though he'd knocked it away.

The thing was heavier than it looked though Ryoichi didn't really have much trouble with it.

A black shape caught his attention and Ryo's hand snapped out to catch it.

The shape in question ended up being a small black piglet with a familiar bandana around its neck. Ryoichi held the pig by the bandana as he looked at it.

Ryoichi blinked, the pig probably belonged to that guy, considering the bandana around its neck. "Guess I'll keep you around til he shows up again."

"P-Chan?" A voice yelled in apart surprise.

Ryoichi looked over as a black haired girl in some kind of school uniform walked up. "This yours?" He asked

He tossed the pig roughly to the girl, who caught it and fawned over it, seemingly concerned by any possibly injury. "Don't suppose you've seen a guy with a tiger-striped bandana run off that way did you? Bastard disappeared in the middle of our fight."

Ranma gave the boy a once over, that sounded a lot like Ryoga. He glanced at the pig in Akane's arms, Who seemed to be glaring at the new boy before being distracted by the attention he was receiving from Akane.

"Ryoga? Tch, Probably got lost again" Ranma said looking over at the pig again.

Akane meanwhile gave the boy a glare, still annoyed at his apparent treatment of P-chan, which caused Ranma to roll his eyes.'.

"Why were you picking on my pig you jerk?!" Akane asked, shouting at the stranger. Ranma glanced over to see that the pig was in fact bruised slightly...so this guy was actually able to hurt Ryoga?

"The stupid pig probably had it comin'." The martial artist commented.

"Tch, why would I waste my time messing with some pig.." Ryoichi commented, rolling his eyes. He didn't do anything anyways, and he wasn't just going to stand there and get yelled at. "Hey you guys know where the Tendo Dojo is?"

Ranma and Akane looked at eachother.

* * *

Yasu looked over the garden area through the open door within the family room she'd been asked to wait in. Apparently none of the saotomes.

"Would you like some tea, Yasu-chan?" The woman who had let her in, Kasumi asked.

Yasu wasn't sure what to think of the dojo, it was a very traditional looking home and dojo,though why the Saotomes would be staying here long term was a mystery as of yet. "I'd love some.'

Kasumi went into the kitchen, presumably to prepare the tea and Yasu noted the signs of relatively recent repairs on parts of the house. The Tendo woman returned with the tea, sitting down across the table from her.

"So Yasu-chan is this your first time coming to Tokyo?" She asked.

"First in a long time, I've been travelling with my uncle for awhile…" Yasu answered, deciding it may not be best to mention what she'd been doing in that time. No need to freak out normal people with that type of thing after all.

The sound of two older men speaking came into earshot, both being particularly loud and in apparent high spirits at the moment.

"I say Saotome, Yamazaki-kun truly has taught his students to shine."

"Indeed Tendo, truly a fine showing, though perhaps they could have used some better conditioning." He added, having noticed a lack of endurance in the other master's students.

Kasumi left the room, though Yasu could hear the exchange from her place at the table.

"Welcome home Father, Mister Saotome, It seems we have a guest." The young woman greeted and the two men walked in a moment later, with Kasumi apparently not returning with them, likely having gone to finish some household chore or another.

"Well this is a surprise…Did they give a name?" The Tendo man noted, having not seen any overt new damage to the building. It had been unusual in recent times for a visitor to not damage the property on their arrival, especially young Ranma-kun's friends. It made him wonder who it could be, or what they could be visiting them for.

"Oh, yes father. I believe she said her name was Fujioka…"

The Tendo patriarch had been taking a sip of the tea his daughter had prepared just as the name and found himself spitting the hot liquid out.

He could see Saotome paling considerably, though before he could truly react a thought occurred to him. "Her?"

While Fujioka hadn't been as familiar a face to him as Saotome, HE had been a senior pupil of Happosai. One that had left the old lecher's training shortly before he and Saotome had locked the master into the cave.

"I wasn't aware that Fujioka-kun had a daughter…" He noted trying to puzzle together what this could mean. Suddenly an idea occurred to the Tendo, and he paled to match his oldest friend.

It couldn't be...surely Saotome wouldn't have…

"Niece actually." An unfamiliar voice answered, and the Tendo patriarch turned around to see the girl in question.

She did share some features with the man, a few facial features, hair color as well… though dark hair wasn't particularly unusual in Japan, and the girl seemed to lack any similarities in build, being rather petite despite her uncles well built frame. Fujioka-kun had always been the more muscled and quite a bit larger. The eyes though.

There was something piercing about them, as though they could see into one's very soul…

No it was no surprise she was related to that man….

"I see, where is Fujioka-kun then, It has been quite a while!" The Tendo patriarch asked. While the man had always been a bit...distant the three of them had still spent some time training together, and while Soun could sense the looming disaster ahead, if what he feared was true perhaps they could talk the man out of any...unfortunate plans.

"He'll be around, he went after some weird looking gnome thing with a sack over it's shoulder." She explained, blinked at the fearful expressions the explanation brought from the two men. She decided to bow politely, even if her family was far from traditional, making a good impression would probably help with her uncle's plans. The three of them proceeded to the dining room, overlooking the yard and koi pond of the tendo property.

Saotome was obviously nervous, and while the Tendo patriarch would normally find such a thing...disheartening the recent wedding attempt between Ranma and Akane allowed him a measure of peace.

"I told you to stop picking on him!" A shout rang out before a meaty thud rang out, Soun barely paid the outburst any mind as he watched his future son-in-law land within the Tendo Family koi pond. A cry of "whadja do that for!" accompanying the splash.

Yasu's eyes widened when she watched the red and black clad boy fall out of the sky, it wasn't the fact he'd obviously been launched OVER the tendo home, a fall that for a normal person would have certainly been fatal, or at least resulted in permanent injury. After all, such things weren't abnormal for high level martial artist, and the martial artist in question didn't even appear truly hurt by the fall,

Except for the tiny detail that she was certain the person falling into the koi pond had been Male. Soun didn't even notice as his oldest friend slipped away upstairs, as Genma thought now would be a perfect time for a surprise training trip with his son,,, just for a few week until Fujioka decided to move on.

When a redheaded girl emerged instead, it caused more than a little confusion for the Fujioka, whom had been sure they had seen a black-haired boy go into the water.

Curious. Yasu reached out with her more abnormal senses, only to be further surprised.

The girl had more ki than she did! Though there were some differences...She didn't quite understand if it was related to the change, but she wouldn't be surprised to know this was the person her uncle was interested in.

The redhead meanwhile climbed out of the koi pond little worse for wear, with the exception of being in a notably worse mood than before. Stupid 'Kane, didn't she realize that it was P-chan startin' it in the first place?

Ranma blinked seeing an unfamiliar girl sitting in the Tendo living room. Experience had taught him that nothing good ever seemed to come from a strange girl appearing at the dojo, a thought only supported by his father, having crept away to the second floor of the dojo jumping out, pack slung over his shoulder.

"Ranma!" He yelled. "We're leaving!" The man grabbed the pigtailed girl roughly slinging her over his shoulder before she could even so much as react. "You're getting soft boy, this training trip is a necessity!" He added, trying to preempt any questioning.

Ranma however, had more than enough time to recover from the surprise, and turned her father's solid grip into a throw worthy of a judo master, tossing the gi-clad man just before he could finish clearing the perimeter wall of the dojo.

"An' jus where do ya think we're goin?" Ranma asked incredulously. She was far too wise to her old man's schemes to just let him avoid any explanation. The pigtailed girl stood on the perimeter wall easily,staring down at her father.

Ranma was already trying to work out how her father would move, this was much like he'd acted when the two were still hiding from his mother, something Ranma found to be more than a little abnormal, who could scare her pop enough to compare to the seppuku pledge?

The old man made his leap in the form of a jumping kick, and Ranma would have met his father in the air except for one...minor issue.

Mainly, someone had beaten him to the punch, and Ranma blinked as Genma was launched into the koi pond by a sudden, kick, orange hair flashed and the unfamiliar fighter from earlier landed easily on the grass area between the koi pond and the water.

"Don't get what the old man wants from you b-The hell?" The orange hair boy yelled, suddenly seeing his opponent suddenly transformed.

* * *

Mouse frowned as his opponent dodged the chains he'd launched, moving to get closer and attempt to engage the short man in close combat where he could use his weapons to their fullest effect.

And then the short boy was simply [i]gone.[/i]

Mouse would have looked around in confusion, only to suddenly hear a voice behind him, speaking in a mere whisper.

"Mizushima Secret technique: Mist Step." The voice chinese boy was sent flying forward as the sheathed sword slammed against his back. Mu Tzu landed in a crouch, using his own aerial skills to turn himself towards his opponent midair.

"I'm sorry, but it seems there was a mistake…" The long haired boy said, thinking on what he'd seen. This guy was good, his strike lacked the power of Saotome or Hibiki's would, but the swordsman made up for it with pure speed.

Mousse wasn't looking to get into a serious fight over this, even if his hidden weapon technique was superior to some random kendo skill. There was something about this guy's ki that put his nerves on edge.

Ito meanwhile scrutinized his apparent attacker for the first time. He wore his hair long, and wore somewhat baggy clothes as well, which with most fighters could easily be considered a liability. Ito had already seen better, well enough to know that the man's robes only helped the strange fighting style his opponent used.

The style was varied enough that fighting against it could be challenging, especially as he had no way of knowing what he'd be defending against until the long-haired chinese boy actually attacked.

"Perhaps you should have thought about that before." Ito commented, suddenly getting into a stance.

Mousse frowned, not sure what to expect from the stance, though it was no matter. He was sure he could avoid whatever attack his opponent made. Mousse recognized the sword stance as an Iaido sword stance. Though Mousse couldn't quite tell the style, he still felt the need for caution. After all, his opponent had shown enough skill that he'd be foolish not to take him seriously.

Ito meanwhile felt himself shift into one of the main stances of the Mizushima Kendo style, ready to end this quickly, before his hand suddenly moved away from his sword as he sensed a presence behind him

How someone with this level of Ki could sneak up on him he wasn't sure, and a glance backwards almost had him reach for his sword again. Standing there, on a gnarled cane was some type of shrivelled up creature the likes he'd never seen. Ordinarily he would assume it was a demon, but there was little Yoki present.

It took a moment for him to realize that the person who'd snuck up on him was actually human, and Ito found himself moving his hand away from his sword, the long haired boy seemingly tensing, before realizing the presence behind him. "What are you doing here, Old Mummy?" The boy asked the ancient woman.

The old woman hopped next to the chinese boy, before giving him a whack on the head. "I believe you have deliveries to make, Sonny boy." She regarded before facing Ito. Mousse grumbled, but recognized that arguing would probably only cause him more trouble

"Interesting, I believe we have much to speak about…" Stated, her voice having holding a foreboding tone..

"I don't believe so…" Ito dismissed, turning from the old woman.

"Oh but we do, sonny boy, It has been many years since i have seen THAT sword style after all."

Ito stopped, glancing back at the ancient woman.

"I suppose i could spare a moment."

* * *

About time i got around to actually writing this, I've had about half this chapter finished for awhile, but then got rather busy. Mostly a chapter establishing the Main three OCs, or at least two of them. Much of this was actually inspired by the introduction of Herb as well as Mint and Lime's fights with Mousse and Ryoga. I figured it's a good way of showing the OC's competency without actively overshadowing the Ranma characters.

Ranma does seem to have something of a power structure between characters doesn't it. I always imagine it as being a bit hard to chart though, since some character's abilities seem to shift around depending on the given story arc. The fight between Ito and Mousse was a bit less inspired, but i kinda rushed through on that one and had some issue with writing the fight while also leaving the actual outcome as a draw.

Out of all the fighters in Ranma, Mousse is actually the one most likely to fight lethally, Ito is actually meant to be somewhat similar in that regard. Dont know how long I'll take to get on with the next chapter, or if I'll end up rewriting this one at some point but... yeah...


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